I've owned a Submariner and there's no doubt that is'a better made watch than the Seiko dive watches that I've owned, but the Seiko value is hard to resist. They are just so enjoyable to wear for so little money. I love that a lot of the models have their own identity (e.g. you can spot them from across the room, which is more than can be said for most others at their price point) and they feel durable, although admittedly not always very accurate. Also, there is a feeling of freedom by not having $10,000 strapped to your wrist when there's a good chance it could get damaged.
I currently have an SKX007 and just picked up a "Captain Willard" SPB183 (the blue 55th anniversary model) a few hours ago, so this article was timely.
Man, this is something I wrestle with a lot. I don't own any Rolexes, but my Bremont MBII is in a similar boat. I love it, and it's theoretically up for FAR more than anything I'll do to it. But when I go do something rough-and-tumble or will be around chemicals for work, I reach for my Scurfa Diver One or my Seiko SRP779.
But, I have an Aquastar on the way soon, and I think that I am probably going to take the route as you mentioned in this post- I think I am really just going to wear the hell out of it. It almost seems disingenuous to take something designed to be used in adverse conditions and not wear it in, well, adverse conditions. Even if it puts a few dings, and maybe needs a service sooner. It's tough to really make memories with a watch (or anything) if it's sitting at home. As the saying goes- "A ship in harbor is safe — but that is not what ships are built for."
I think about this frequently. The argument applies just about everything. My son-in-law says I should buy a BMW. A nice one. Something fast and sexy. I can afford it, so why not? I still love precision engineering. I still love speed. But, I drive a Subaru Outback. True, the Subaru seems to be the state car up here in the White Mountains of NH. But still.
I guess it’s because the Outback fits my needs. And, is a bit unassuming. It carries my skies and other outdoor equipment. I go to the dump with it weekly. It can take four skiers using the roof rack! With snow tires it’s a tank, and sometimes, like driving home from Jay Peak in a blizzard it’s comforting.
A BMW 5X could likely do just as well, but…. I guess as the years roll by I see myself as an austere, sage mountain man. It’s still a stretch, but one I wear more comfortably.
This is a great write up! Watches are meant to be worn, and we all decide how and when to wear them. Subs are meant to be bulletproof dive watches so it makes plenty sense to put it through its paces. Prior to the market boom for Rolexes they were tool watches for divers, climbers, doctors and the like. Glad to see you’re taking yours out into the wild, re-sale value be damned.
I've owned lots of Seiko dive watches (but don't any more) and a fair few Submariners, and I'm wearing my 2020 Submariner as I type this. I get that functionally there is no difference, and probably they will both last just as well given how tough Seikos are. But the Rolex Sub is objectively much better made (misaligned Seiko bezels, anyone?) and feels much better quality on the wrist. Particularly the quality of the bracelet, dial furniture (still can't write that phrase without it sounding weird), bezel action, timekeeping, er - pretty much everything. Ten or twenty times better? Not sure. But definitely better. Plus, I'm a very important man who needs the whole world to know how incredibly successful and happy and fulfilled and successful I am. And that's when a Rolex is just infinitely better than a Seiko.
Such a meaningful story with many parallels to my own life. My father also had a Bulova tuning fork watch on a Spinel expandable watch band which I wish I had today.
I had the fortune of being bought a DateJust for my 21st birthday. On paper it's a watch that can more than withstand the rigours of daily life and, despite my start as a diving instructor, can even handle recreational diving but I eschew it for a beaten up Seiko turtle. Admittedly there's a large part of me that dislikes the idea of a young man swanning around with a luxury item he hasn't earned himself. My main issue, however, is the idea of risking something quite so valuable when I can get the same buzz wearing a watch that costs less than 1/10 the value of the other (and offers more functionality too!). At the end of the day I can go anywhere and do anything with my turtle and I don't have the worries that I would have with a Rolex-from security to catching it on stuff. I think beyond the many similarities there's a peace of mind that comes with wearing something thats rugged and has historical provenance but is ultimately replaceable.
The curse of the watch collector: when to wear which watch?
Back when I went from one watch to the next, usually every 5 to 7 years, there was no hard decision. Then My Beloved gave me a TAGHeuer Aquaracer for my 50th birthday, and down the rabbit hole I went. Nevertheless, it is the Omega Aqua Terra ("Skyfall') she gave me when I graduated MBA school that graces my wrist 90 percent of the time . . . even when pick up dog droppings in the lawn this morning.
Love this! I've gone through my whole life with the idea of trying to do more or the same as my peers with less, and with always taking a pragmatic view of life. Why drive a $55k crew cab truck back and forth to work when a $25k hatchback gets you there just as well? Some of the 'luxury' or stretch buys are a matter of scale. The difference in price between the Orient Mako on my wrist right now and a similar vintage Rolex Sub is a factor of 100. If I wanted to, I could spend $10k on a watch, but it would go against the my sensibilities. That same money pays for a semester for my daughters education...
I do feel that watches have can have a value that can't be explained with money. My fathers Bulova or the TAG Heuer my wife gave as a wedding gift have infinitely more value to me than what I'd get on Ebay, and as such they will never be moved. But everything else I have simply fills a particular job, and makes me smile when I look at my wrist.
I can relate with your sentiment, it’s less about the difference and more about our willingness to enjoy the things we have. When you think about it you have a choice to be owned by your possessions or to enjoy them. I reminds me of a story my father told me about a relative from way back, he went by the name of “Diamond” Jim Brady. Jim was a self made guy and enjoyed the finer things in life to include diamonds. One one occasion in the 1880s he lost a diamond encrusted cufflink that was so expensive it made the papers in NYC, when asked about it his reply was “Them as has ’em, wears ’em.” I think that says it all.
I've owned a Submariner and there's no doubt that is'a better made watch than the Seiko dive watches that I've owned, but the Seiko value is hard to resist. They are just so enjoyable to wear for so little money. I love that a lot of the models have their own identity (e.g. you can spot them from across the room, which is more than can be said for most others at their price point) and they feel durable, although admittedly not always very accurate. Also, there is a feeling of freedom by not having $10,000 strapped to your wrist when there's a good chance it could get damaged.
I currently have an SKX007 and just picked up a "Captain Willard" SPB183 (the blue 55th anniversary model) a few hours ago, so this article was timely.
Man, this is something I wrestle with a lot. I don't own any Rolexes, but my Bremont MBII is in a similar boat. I love it, and it's theoretically up for FAR more than anything I'll do to it. But when I go do something rough-and-tumble or will be around chemicals for work, I reach for my Scurfa Diver One or my Seiko SRP779.
But, I have an Aquastar on the way soon, and I think that I am probably going to take the route as you mentioned in this post- I think I am really just going to wear the hell out of it. It almost seems disingenuous to take something designed to be used in adverse conditions and not wear it in, well, adverse conditions. Even if it puts a few dings, and maybe needs a service sooner. It's tough to really make memories with a watch (or anything) if it's sitting at home. As the saying goes- "A ship in harbor is safe — but that is not what ships are built for."
I think about this frequently. The argument applies just about everything. My son-in-law says I should buy a BMW. A nice one. Something fast and sexy. I can afford it, so why not? I still love precision engineering. I still love speed. But, I drive a Subaru Outback. True, the Subaru seems to be the state car up here in the White Mountains of NH. But still.
I guess it’s because the Outback fits my needs. And, is a bit unassuming. It carries my skies and other outdoor equipment. I go to the dump with it weekly. It can take four skiers using the roof rack! With snow tires it’s a tank, and sometimes, like driving home from Jay Peak in a blizzard it’s comforting.
A BMW 5X could likely do just as well, but…. I guess as the years roll by I see myself as an austere, sage mountain man. It’s still a stretch, but one I wear more comfortably.
Made me think of a little running joke in the local watch group that one particular person's Datejust is his "yard work" watch. lol.
This is a great write up! Watches are meant to be worn, and we all decide how and when to wear them. Subs are meant to be bulletproof dive watches so it makes plenty sense to put it through its paces. Prior to the market boom for Rolexes they were tool watches for divers, climbers, doctors and the like. Glad to see you’re taking yours out into the wild, re-sale value be damned.
I've owned lots of Seiko dive watches (but don't any more) and a fair few Submariners, and I'm wearing my 2020 Submariner as I type this. I get that functionally there is no difference, and probably they will both last just as well given how tough Seikos are. But the Rolex Sub is objectively much better made (misaligned Seiko bezels, anyone?) and feels much better quality on the wrist. Particularly the quality of the bracelet, dial furniture (still can't write that phrase without it sounding weird), bezel action, timekeeping, er - pretty much everything. Ten or twenty times better? Not sure. But definitely better. Plus, I'm a very important man who needs the whole world to know how incredibly successful and happy and fulfilled and successful I am. And that's when a Rolex is just infinitely better than a Seiko.
Such a meaningful story with many parallels to my own life. My father also had a Bulova tuning fork watch on a Spinel expandable watch band which I wish I had today.
I had the fortune of being bought a DateJust for my 21st birthday. On paper it's a watch that can more than withstand the rigours of daily life and, despite my start as a diving instructor, can even handle recreational diving but I eschew it for a beaten up Seiko turtle. Admittedly there's a large part of me that dislikes the idea of a young man swanning around with a luxury item he hasn't earned himself. My main issue, however, is the idea of risking something quite so valuable when I can get the same buzz wearing a watch that costs less than 1/10 the value of the other (and offers more functionality too!). At the end of the day I can go anywhere and do anything with my turtle and I don't have the worries that I would have with a Rolex-from security to catching it on stuff. I think beyond the many similarities there's a peace of mind that comes with wearing something thats rugged and has historical provenance but is ultimately replaceable.
The curse of the watch collector: when to wear which watch?
Back when I went from one watch to the next, usually every 5 to 7 years, there was no hard decision. Then My Beloved gave me a TAGHeuer Aquaracer for my 50th birthday, and down the rabbit hole I went. Nevertheless, it is the Omega Aqua Terra ("Skyfall') she gave me when I graduated MBA school that graces my wrist 90 percent of the time . . . even when pick up dog droppings in the lawn this morning.
Love this! I've gone through my whole life with the idea of trying to do more or the same as my peers with less, and with always taking a pragmatic view of life. Why drive a $55k crew cab truck back and forth to work when a $25k hatchback gets you there just as well? Some of the 'luxury' or stretch buys are a matter of scale. The difference in price between the Orient Mako on my wrist right now and a similar vintage Rolex Sub is a factor of 100. If I wanted to, I could spend $10k on a watch, but it would go against the my sensibilities. That same money pays for a semester for my daughters education...
I do feel that watches have can have a value that can't be explained with money. My fathers Bulova or the TAG Heuer my wife gave as a wedding gift have infinitely more value to me than what I'd get on Ebay, and as such they will never be moved. But everything else I have simply fills a particular job, and makes me smile when I look at my wrist.
Thanks for the thoughts!
I can relate with your sentiment, it’s less about the difference and more about our willingness to enjoy the things we have. When you think about it you have a choice to be owned by your possessions or to enjoy them. I reminds me of a story my father told me about a relative from way back, he went by the name of “Diamond” Jim Brady. Jim was a self made guy and enjoyed the finer things in life to include diamonds. One one occasion in the 1880s he lost a diamond encrusted cufflink that was so expensive it made the papers in NYC, when asked about it his reply was “Them as has ’em, wears ’em.” I think that says it all.